In search of Père Castel's Philosophy of Princes: Jesuit physico-politics and climate change in early 18th-century France

 

Louis-Bertrand Castel, SJ (1688-1757) is best known today for his contributions to natural philosophy, mathematics, and chromatics. Less well known were his efforts to establish himself as a physico-political advisor to the French state. Indeed, Père Castel developed a "philosophy of princes" grounded in his mechanical insights into gravity, equilibrium, circulation, and organization. This philosophy promised to equip sovereigns with the knowledge and tools needed for "making rain and fair weather," both in the figurative and in the literal sense.  In this presentation, I will reconstruct this project by chasing allusions to it through publications and manuscripts, while highlighting Castel's involvement in the development and promotion large-scale infrastructural initiatives.

 

 

Jean-Olivier Richard did his Ph.D. in the history of science and technology department at the Johns Hopkins University. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Christianity and Culture program at St Michael’s College in the University of Toronto, and an affiliate of the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. J.O.'s  academic interests include the relationship between natural philosophy and Christian theology in early modern and Enlightenment France, Jesuit history, environmental history, and the history of alchemy, astrology, and magic. His current work focuses on the life and world of the French Jesuit Louis-Bertrand Castel, SJ (1688-1757), with a particular emphasis on his theory of the action of man on nature.